Regulator for multiple-cylinder engines.



E. A. ZOLLE.

REGULATOR FOR MULTIPLE CYLINDER ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3, 1911.

Patented June 24, 1913.

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E. A. ZOLLE.

REGULATOR FOR MULTIPLE CYLINDER ENGINES,

APPLICATION FILLED JUNE 3, 1911.

1,065,491. Patented June 24, 1913.

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UNITED 1%TATES PATENT @FFIQIZ.

EDWARD A. ZOLLE, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO MOORE CABVINGMACHINE COMPANY, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNE-SOTA.

REGULATOR FOR MULTIPLE-CYLINDER ENGINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD A. ZOLLE, a citizen of the United States, andresident of Minneapolis, in the county of l-Iennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain Improvements in Regulators forMultiple- Cylinder Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to improvements in the multiplecylinder engine shown and described in Letters Patent No. 880,958,issued iWIarch 3rd, 1968, to Frank X. Bachle and John C. L. Krebs. Inthat patent an engine is described having two or more cylinders, and inthe case of a twocylinder engine the charge is pumped into thecombustion end of each cylinder by the piston of the other cylinder, andin the case of a three or more cylinder engine the charge is pumped intothe combustion end of each cylinder by the pistons of two or morecylinders of the series.

In using this engine I find it advantageous to regulate the amount ofthe charge that is pumped into the combustion end of each cylinder, andI preferably, at the same time, regulate the supply of gas from thecarbureter. In this way I am enabled to slow down the engine and at thesame time have it run smoothly and evenly without missing anyexplosions, and economizing materially in the cost of fuel.

The invention consists generally in the constructions and combinationshereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is avertical, longitudinal section through the distributer of an engine ofthe type designated and having my regulator applied thereto, Fig. 2 is avertical section on line 22 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a detail section of theregulator, Fig. t is an outline view showing means for simultaneouslyoperating the regulator and the valve of the carbureter.

In the drawings, 1, 2, 3 and 4 represent the cylinders of an engineembodying my improvement. Each of the pistons is marked 5 and theenlargements at the lower ends are marked 5. A rotating distributer orrotary valve 6 is arranged in a housing or valve casing 7, and thisrotary valve is provided with ports arranged to register with the portsof the cylinder. These parts Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. June 3, 1911.

Patented June 2%, 1913.

Serial No. 631,185.

of the engine are all substantially as shown and described in saidPatent No. 880,958.

I provide in connection with the rotary valve 6, a valve or regulator,which permits me to cut out at will the passage of the charge to thecombustion end of the cylinder from all but one of said cylinders. Whenthis cut-oft is closed each cylinder instead of receiving in itscombustion chamber a charge that is pumped into it by the pistons of twoor more cylinders of the series, will receive only the charge pumpedinto it by one of the cylinders of the series. For this purpose Iprovide a suitable valve 9 located preferably near the center of therotary valve 6. As I have shown this device in the present drawing, asleeve 8 forming a valve seat is located at or near the central pointlongitudinal of the rotary valve or distributer 6. The valve 9 isarranged to engage the seat 8 and it is provided with a stem 10 thatpasses through a suitable stufiing box 13 at the end of the distributingchamber. A collar 12 is arranged upon the valve stem 10 and a suitablespring 11 surrounds the valve stem 10, and has one end bearing upon thesleeve Sand the other against the collar 12 on the valve stem 10. Vfiththis construction the spring tends to hold the valve 9 at all timesagainst the seat. A suitable operating lever 14 is arranged in positionto engage the end of the valve stem 10. Any suitable means may beemployed for operating the lever 14.

In running the engine ordinarily the lever let will be moved intoposition to engage the valve stem 10 and force the valve 9 off from theseat 8, thereby leaving a clear passage from'end to end of the rotaryvalve or distributer 6. v By releasing the lever lt the spring 11 willclose the valve 9 upon its seat 8 and communication through the lengthof the rotary distributing valve will be pre vented by said valve 9.When the valve 9 is open the distribution of the charge is the same asdescribed in said Patent No. 880,958, thatis to say, cylinder No. 1 hasits charge compressed therein by the pistons of cylinders 2 and 4;cylinder No. 2 by the pistons of cylinders Nos. 1 and 3; cylinder No. 3by the pistons of cylinders Nos. 1 and 4 and cylinder No. at by thepistonsof cylinders Nos. 2. and 3. Nhen the regulator valve 9 is closed,as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, the charge in cylinder No. 1 iscompressed therein by the No. 2 piston, and the charge in cylinder No. 2is compressed therein by the No. 1 piston; the charge in cylinder No. 3is compressed therein by the No. 4: piston and the charge in cylinderNo. 4 is com pressed therein by the No. 3 piston. With the regulatorvalve closed, as stated, each cylinder will receive only half as muchgas as it will with the regulator valve open, as in the last named caseeach cylinder will receive the gas pumped into it by the pistons oftwoof the other cylinders. This construction is exceedingly simple andis easily applied to the rotary valves or distributors of said PatentNo. 880,958.

IV hen it is desired to slow down the engine the valve 9 in the rotaryvalve or distributor 6 is closed by releasing the lever 14 andpermitting the spring 11 to bring said valve against its seat, and theneach cylinder receives in its combustion chamber the gas pumped into itby only one piston, as hereinbeiore set forth.

I find this device particularly advantage ous where it is desired to runvery slowly, or where it is desired to leave an engine running idle.Only one-half as much gas will be supplied to each combustion chamberwhen the valve is closed as will be when this engine is not providedwith this valve, or as will be with this engine when the valve 9 isopen.

I also find. it advantageous, in using this device, to regulate thevalve of the carbureter sin'iultaneously with the opening or closing ofthe regulator valve 9. In Fig. 4. of the drawings I have shown theoutline of a carburetor connected to the distributing chamber of theengine, so as to furnish gas for the cylinders. This carbureter isprovided with a rod 15 which extends to a pedal or lever 16 in positionto be under the control of the operator of the engine. A rod 17 alsoextends from the lever 14 to the same pedal or operating lever. YViththis arrangement, when I close the valve 9, through the lever 14, Isimultaneously adjust the carburetor so as to cut down the supply of gasto the engine, and when I open the regulator valve 9 I open thecarbureter valve also, and increase the supply of gas to the engine. Bythis means I materially economize in the use of fuel for the engine. henI am running the engine slowly and do not need much power I cut down thesupply of fuel and at the same time secure an even running of the enginewith regular explosions in the cylinders. I find that the engine doesnot miss any explosions and that with this device a two-cycle engine canbe throttled with much better results than have here tofore beenobtained. \Vhen the regulator valve is closed the space that is to befilled by the gas driven out of a cylinder by the enlargement on itspiston, is very much reduced. Hence, a greater compression of the chargecan be obtained than would be possible by throttling the engine throughreducing the delivery oi gas at the carbureter alone.

While I prefer to use in conjunction with the regulating valve the meansdescribed tor regulating the supply of gas from the carbureter, I do notlimit myself to the use of this last named feature, as importantadvantages will result t'rom the use of the regulating valve alone.

I do not limit myself to the details of con struction, as the same maybe varied in many particulars without departing from my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination, with an internal. combustion engine having more thantwo cylinders, each provided with a combustion and pumping chamber andin which the charge is pumped into the combustion end of each cylinderby the pistons of a plurality of the other cylinders of the series, ofmeans for cutting out at will the passage of the charge to thecombustion end of a cylinder from all but one of said other cylinders,whereby each cylinder will receive its charge from the pumping chamberof one of the other cylinders only.

The combination, with an internal conibustion engine having more thantwo cylinders, each provided with a combustion and a pumping chamber andin which the charge is pumped into the combustion end of each cylinderby the pistons of a plurality of the other cylinders of the series, ofmeans for 1 cutting out at will the passage of the charge j to thecombustion end of a cylinder from one or more of theother cylinders.

The combination, with an internal combustion engine having more than twocylinders each provided with a combustion and a pumping chamber, and inwhich the charge is pumped into the combustion end' i of each cylinderby the pistons of a plurality of the other cylinders of the series, of acarbureter, means for cutting out and permitting at will the passage ofthe charge tov the combustion end of} a cylinder from one of the othercylinders, and means for simultaneously regulating the discharge of gasfrom the carbureter. I

4. The combination, with a multiple cylinder internal combustion enginein which each cylinder is provided with a combus tion chamber, and apumping chamber, of a rotary distributing valve provided with passagesadapted to receive the explosive mixture from the carbureter and lead itinto said. pumping chambers, and having also a longitudinal passagearranged to receive the explosive mixture from said pumping chambers andto lead the same to said combustion chambers, and dividing meansarranged in said discharge passage and operable at will to permit orprevent the mixture in one portion of said passage entering the cylindercommunicating with the opposite portion, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a multiple cylinder internal combustion enginein which each cylinder is provided with a combustion chamber and apumping chamber, of a rotary distributing valve having passages arrangedto receive the explosive mixture from the carbureter and to direct it tosaid pumping chambers, and having a longitudinal distributing passage,which receives the explosive mixture from said pumping chambers, andwhich communicates 'in turn with the combustion chamber of each cylinderin its respective order of ignition, and means for closing at will saiddistributing passage at a point near the middle thereof, preventing thegases from one end of said passage from entering the combustion chamberscommunicating with the other end thereof, substantially as described. 6.The combination, with a multiple cylinder internal combustion engine, inwhich each cylinder is provided with a combustion chamber and a pumpingchamber, of a rotary distributing valve, having passages arranged toreceive the explosive mixture from the carbureter and to direct it intothe pumping chambers of the cylinder, and having a passage whichreceives the mixture from said pumping chambers and directs it to thecombustion chamber of each cylinder 1n its respective order of ignition,and means provided in connection with said passage whereby the mixturein one end of said pas sage may be permitted to enter, or prevent itfrom entering the other end thereof.

7. In an internal combustion engine, a plurality of cylinders, a valvechamber common to all of the cylinders and having passages leadingthereto, rotary means in said valve chamber for controlling saidpassages and having a plurality of charge distributing chambers each ofwhich is common to the passages of a portion only of the cylinders, andmeans operable to open communication between said distributing chambers.

8. In a multiple cylinder internal combustion engine having itscylinders provided with pumping and combustion chambers,the combinationof a valve chamber common to all of said cylinders and having passagesleading to the chambers therein, a rotary valve in said valve chamberfor controlling all of said passages, said valve having inner and outerchambers, one serving as a gas supply chamber and the other as a gasdistributing chamber, the distributing chamber being divided into aplurality of separated compartments each of which is common to thepassages of a plurality of said cylinders, a passage openingcommunication between said compartments, and means operable to open andclose said passage.

9. In a multiple cylinder engine having its cylinders provided withpumping and combustion chambers and passages leading thereto, thecombination of a rotary valve common to all of said chambers and havinga gas supply chamber and a gas distributing chamber and ports foropening communication between said chambers and said passages to controlthe pumping of charges into the pumping chambers and the distributionthereof from such pumping chambers to the combustion chambers, apartition in the distributing chamber dividing it into compartments tocause the cylinders to work in pairs, a passage to open communication between the compartments of the distributing chamber, and a valve in saidpassage for controlling the passage of the charges therethrough.

10. In a multiple cylinder engine having its cylinders each providedwith pumping and combustion chambers having passages leading thereto,the combination with a ro tary valve which is common to all of saidchambers to control the admission of charges to the pumping chambers andthe distribution of charges to each combustion chamber from a pluralityof pumping chambers of the other cylinders, and a throttle controllingthe admission of charges to said valve, of means separating the chargedistributing portion of said valve into a plurality of compartmentswhich cause the cylinders to work in pairs, a passage openingcommunicating between such compartments, a valve for opening and closingsaid passage, and mechanism for operating said throttle and said lastmentioned valve in unison.

11. In a multiple cylinder engine having its cylinders provided withpumping and combustion chambers having passages leading thereto, a valvecasing forming a chamber which is common to all of said cylinderpassages, a rotary valve mounted in said chamber and having a supplychamber provided with ports for registering with the pumping chamberpassages and having a distributing chamber provided with ports forregistering with all of said passages at predetermined intervals duringa rotation of the "alve, said distributing chamber having at .least onepartition therein dividing it into compartments to cause charges to bedistributed from one to another of the cylinders in pairs, a passage toopen communication between the compartments of its distributing chamber,a valve located in said passage, a throttle for controlling admission ofgas to said supply chamber, and manually controlled means operable toopen and close said throttle and said last mentioned valve.

12. In a multiple cylinder internal combustion engine having itscylinders provided with pumping and combustion chambers, the combinationof a valve chamber common to all of said cylinders and having passagesleading tothe chambers therein, a rotary valve in said valve chamber forcontrolling all, of said passages, said valve having inner and outerchambers, one serving as a charge supply chamber and the other as achargedistributing chamber, the distributing chamber being divided intoa plurality of sepa rate compartments, each of which is common to thepassages of a plurality of said cylinders.

13. In a multiple cylinder engine having its cylinders provided withpumping and combustion chambers and passages leading thereto, thecombination of a rotary valve common to all of said chambers and havinga charge-supply chamber and a charge-distributing chamber and ports foropening communication between said chambers and said passages to controlthe pumping of charges into the pumping chambers and the distributionthereof from such pumping chambers to the combustion chambers, and atleast one partition in the distributing chamber dividing it intocompartments to cause the cylinders to work in pairs.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st day 01": May1911.

EDXVARD A. ZOLLE.

Witnesses GENEVIEVE E. SoRENsEN, EDWARD A. PAUL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe, Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

